Caleb Pollard, executive director of Valley County Economic Development, receives the award for Most Creative Rural Community Website by Websites for Growth, an effort to recognize digital media excellence in rural Nebraska
Pollard receives the Technology, Infrastructure and Planning Special Award from Lt. Governor Sheehy for the new Valley County Health System replacement hospital
Ord and Valley County received award recognition at the 47th Annual Nebraska Community Improvement Program Awards Banquet. Ord won “Most Creative Website” from the Websites for Growth Award, an effort to recognize excellence in digital media. Also, Valley County won a Special Award in Technology, Infrastructure & Planning for the new hospital building project. The awards banquet wrapped up a daylong event in conjunction with the Governor’s Conference on Rural Development. The conference and banquet is coordinated by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development and is day-long education, training and networking conference on rural development issues. st—Bassett. 2nd—Wolbach. 3rd—Farnam. st—Scribner. 2nd—Henderson. 3rd—Pawnee City. st—Ainsworth. 2nd—Imperial. 3rd—Hartington. st—Wahoo. 2nd—Seward. 3rd—Nebraska City. st—Pawnee County. 2nd–Seward County. Volunteer & Leadership Development
NCIP awards reflect outstanding community and economic development projects. A program of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, NCIP is sponsored by Black Hills Corporation, Ag Processing Inc., First National Bank of Nebraska, including First National Bank North Platte, Platte Valley State Bank and Trust Company-Kearney, First National Bank and Trust-Columbus, and Fremont National Bank and Trust Company, Union Pacific Railroad Company, Dawson Public Power District, NMPP Energy, Hemingford Cooperative Telephone Company, Kearney Visitors Bureau, Consolidated Companies, Nebraska Public Power District and Nebraska Community Foundation.
Following are the 2010 award winners:
The Otto Hoiberg Award for top overall community development went to Scribner. This year alone, volunteers logged more than 1,400 hours on various projects. These included a playground addition to the Scribner-Snyder Sports Complex, a redevelopment project that cleaned up condemned residential and commercial properties, and a youth fundraising project for the Rainbow House in association with Omaha Children’s Hospital. Other significant projects included development of an industrial park and construction of a new day care facility.
The Good Neighbor Award, presented to a community that has assisted, supported and encouraged a neighboring community or region, went to Wauneta. After Imperial’s swimming pool closed for repairs, Wauneta offered its pool as a practice facility for Imperial’s high school swim team and for swim meets. The village also employed lifeguards from Imperial to staff the pool.
The Founders Award, which honors outstanding intergovernmental projects in Nebraska went to Wahoo in recognition of the partnership between the organizations that contributed to construction of Lake Wanahoo, a large flood control reservoir. Earning recognition were The City of Wahoo, Saunders County, Lower Platte North Natural Resource District, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska Department of Roads, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Game and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Construction commenced in October 2008 and wrapped up this past August 31.
The Marilyn Ristine Leadership Award went to Jerry Johnson from Wahoo. Johnson has been involved in NCIP programs in several communities through the years. In 1974, he chaired the Gothenburg Community Improvement Association. From 1978-1981, he led the Dorchester Community Improvement Program. After moving to Wahoo, he reinstated NCIP in 2004 and held the chair position until 2009. As an NCIP Advisory Board member, Johnson has actively promoted communities and volunteered as an NCIP judge for the past six years. The award, named in memory of Marilyn Ristine (1928-1992), an outstanding community leader in Gothenburg, was created in 1993 to recognize a long-time, community volunteer who exhibited exemplary leadership qualities.
The Youth Leadership for Outstanding Community Service Award recognizes outstanding youth who develop and lead projects and peers for the betterment of their communities. Following are this year’s youth leader awardees in their respective NCIP population categories:
Class I: Jason Buchli, Alexandria
Class II: Kayla Piper, Scribner
Class III: Thomas Sullivan, Imperial
Class IV: Sydney Swanson, Alliance
Class V: Andrew Sorsen, Seward
Governor’s Community Spirit Awards, given for overall excellence in community and economic development, were presented as follows:
Class I: (Pop. 1-700) 1
Class II: (Pop. 701-1,100) 1
Class III: (1,101-4,000) 1
Class IV: (Pop. 4,001-plus) 1
Class V: (Multi-Community) 1
This year’s 2010 NCIP Special Award Recipients are:
Class I: Wolbach – Alumni Cookbook Class II: Deshler – Intergenerational Memorial Day in Deshler Class III: Imperial – Meeting of the Minds Class IV: Nebraska City – Community Development Committee—Formalization and Growth Class V: Seward County—Volunteers and Volunteer Leadership Projects—Special Projects Youth Involvement & Leadership Development
Class I: Bassett – Rock County Youth Leadership Class Class II: Scribner – FCCLA Project—Children’s Hospital Fundraiser Class III: Gothenburg – ABLE Elementary Vehicle Day Class IV: Wahoo – Wahoo Middle School Unity Council Business Assistance & Development
Class I: Farnam – New Business Class II: Scribner – Growing with Leaps & Bounds Child Enrichment Center Class III: Imperial – Cornerstone Development Project Class IV: Wahoo – Saunders County Lost Pets Tourism Promotion & Development
Class I: Bassett – Sandhills Ranch Expo Class II: Henderson – School House at Henderson Mennonite Heritage Park Class III: Gothenburg – History – A Window Into the Past for Future Generations Class IV: Alliance – Dobby’s Frontier Town Class V: Pawnee County – Pawnee County Back Roads Tour Workforce Development
Class III: Ainsworth – Future in the Hands of Our Youth Class V: Cedar County – We Have It All In Cedar County Technology, Infrastructure & Planning
Class II: Henderson – Hospital Expansion Project at Henderson Health Care Services, Inc. Class III: Ainsworth – Vision 2023: Citizens Create Strategic Plan Class IV: Seward – Project Band Shell Phase II: Benches Class V: Valley County – Valley County Health System Replacement Hospital Parks, Recreation & Environmental Awareness
Class III (tie): Geneva – the Secret Garden, and Atkinson – Atkinson Lake Park Class IV: Nebraska City – Nebraska City Green Coalition – Community Garden Class V: Gering/Scottsbluff – From Spare Parts to Library Arts
Class I: Union – Union’s Clean Up & Green Up Class I Honorable Mention: Alexandria – Pony Express Park Picnic Shelter Renovation Class II: Laurel – Community Beautification Through Landscaping Arts & Humanities
Class I: Bassett – Bassett History DVDs Class II: Pawnee City – AmericCorps Helping Museum Class III (tie): Gothenburg – Things are Popping at the Sun, and Imperial – Quasquicentennial Celebration Class IV: Alliance – Knight Museum and Sandhills Center Community Services
For information or to obtain a script from the awards ceremony, contact: Christina Bartels at 800-426-6505 or Christina.bartels@nebraska.gov.
Class I: Wolbach – Soup Cook Off Fundraiser for Community Center
